Neighbors complained that the 48-foot-tall house blocked their views. Now, the family that built the house has sold it for $3.78-million.
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published June 30, 2004
REDINGTON BEACH - One of two towering homes criticized by neighbors for dwarfing their own has been sold for what is thought to be a record price for this small barrier island town.
Realtor Anita Kleinfeld said the home at 15808 Gulf Blvd. sold for $3.78-million on June 18 to businessman John Porreca.
"As far back as I can see, it seems to be the largest sale in Redington Beach," she said.
Pinellas County records indicate no single-family home has gone for more in the town in the past 28 years. Across the county, 53 single-family homes have been scooped up for $1-million or more since the beginning of this year.
The blue house, with balconies overlooking the gulf, was completed about a year and a half ago by Samuel Angelides, 42, of Angelides Inc. It belonged to his parents, Kenneth and Lorraine Angelides, retirees who have decided to move to the Caribbean.
The younger Angelides lives next door to the recently sold Redington Beach home, in a yellow house at 15806 Gulf Blvd., which he also built.
The two houses replaced one that previously stood on two lots, he said. During construction, neighbors complained to the Town Commission about the twin 48-foot-tall structures, which they said blocked their views and overpowered surrounding homes. Officials said the homes were legal and met all current codes.
A new home at 161st Street and Gulf Boulevard and another planned next to it, though, are stirring up the building height controversy once more. The town's planning board is discussing the issue and looking at how it's being handled by neighboring municipalities, said C.J. Long, the board's chair.
"The current building code is written in such a way that allows for variable roof heights," she said.
Under the current code, she said, builders can average the heights of multiple roofs on a single family home to reach the permitted median 30-foot roof height.
"The bottom line is there is no absolute cap on roof height in Redington Beach," Long said.
"The planning board is looking into possibly developing a change in the code that would establish a consistent maximum roof height."
Meanwhile, in a county where waterfront property is hot and prices continue to soar, the 5,000-square-foot former Angelides home, listed at $4.1-million, did not remain on the market for long.
"It sold in 70 days," said Kleinfeld, who is with Keller Williams Gulfcoast Realty at 5999 Central Ave., in St. Petersburg.
Kleinfeld, who has been in the real estate business for more than 25 years, marketed the four bedroom, 41/2 bath house aggressively, distributing CDs with photographs that highlighted the home's features.
She listed it in Tampa Bay area newspapers and got it shown in a local real estate magazine that featured the home's heated pool and gulf view on the cover. By the time the June 3 issue of the Pinellas County edition of House & Homes Magazine was published, however, the house was already under contract.
Inquiries about the property came from the Tampa Bay area, residents from other parts of the United States and even Europeans, Kleinfeld said.
"It was such a positive response from people who could afford this type of home," she said.
"They feel that they are getting a bargain, some of the foreign buyers."
Samuel Angelides, who is building another 5,000-square-foot, custom house on St. Pete Beach, called the recently sold house "exceptional."
"The highlight of that house is that you don't need air conditioning any time of the year. There is plenty of ventilation. The back has three levels of covered porches," he said.
No corners were cut to build the luxury home that also features 30 feet of granite counters in its gourmet kitchen and granite floors throughout most of the first level, he said.
